


23:42

by spaceapathy



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Drunk Lance, Fluff, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-07-09
Packaged: 2018-11-29 15:54:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11444154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spaceapathy/pseuds/spaceapathy
Summary: Lance and whiskey is never a good combination.Or, drunk confession au.





	23:42

23:42

Lance’s phone buzzed in his pocket as he was seated on a ripped leather barstool, tracing patterns into the glossy wood of the bar. The screen of his phone illuminated his face in the dim pub lights.

Keith: where r u? it’s getting late. everybody’s getting worried.

Keith was always such a nag. He never let Lance have a fun night to himself. Lance put his phone back in his pocket, ignoring the text, before raising his hand towards the bartender.

“What can I getcha?” The bartender raised his head at Lance.

“Six shots of whiskey. Whatever’s cheapest.” Lance said.

“You got friends comin’?” The gruff man raised an eyebrow.

“Nope,” Lance replied.

“Fine by me, long as you’re payin’.” The bartender said, pouring the amber liquor into six shot glasses on a tray before sliding it to Lance.

Lance looked down into the dark liquid and sighed, starting to regret what he was doing. Truthfully, he should have been home an hour ago, or he should have at least sent Keith a text telling him where he was.

Lance pushed it to the back of his mind, sending the stinging liquid down his throat.

 

 

 

 

00:36

“C’mon man! One more! You can do it!” A heavily inebriated man shouted to his friend, slurring his words. He was pounding him on his back, encouraging him to down the shots that Lance had somehow ended up paying for.

Keith: this isn’t funny, lance. where are you?

Keith: if you don’t reply soon, i’m calling you.

Lance didn’t even bother to check his phone. He reached across the beefy man to his left, retrieving a shot glass from in front of a man who looked like he was seeing another dimension and downed it quickly.

“See? Luke’s got it down! Why can’t you?” The man insisted.

“‘S Lance. My name’s Lance.” Lance insisted.

“Liam! How ‘bout we have a drinking contest?” The man boomed.

“I’ll die,” Lance said, closing his eyes like he was in pain.

“No, you won’t! You’ll-” The drunk man was cut off abruptly by Lance’s phone ringing.

Incoming Call: Keith

Lance muted his phone before turning back to his newly made friend.

“Who was that?” He asked.

“No one important.” Lance waved it away with his hand. “You mentioned drinks?”

 

 

 

 

00:41

Missed Call From: Keith

 

 

 

 

03:12

27 Missed Calls From: Keith

 

 

 

 

 

03:17

“Hold on! Hold on! I need to call someone.” Lance giggled, tripping away from his newly acquired clique.

Dialing: Keith

Almost directly after the first ring, Keith picked up with a relieved gasp.

“Lance! I’ve been trying to call you all night! Where the hell are you?”

“Lance. That’s my name. You’re Keith. Keith, Keith, Keith, Keith…” Lance snickered, laughing at a joke that was only apparent to him.

“Lance! This is serious! Just tell me where you are so I can come and get you.” Keith sounded slightly panicked over the line.

“Keith? Have I ever told you how cute you are? Like really, really cute. Like really.” Lance cackled as Keith spoke to someone else in the room.

“Pidge, can you trace where he’s calling from? He’s hammered.” Keith frantically asked.

“I’m working on it. Just keep him on the line for a little longer.” They replied.

“Well, Keithy, if you don’t need me I have,” Lance hiccuped, “things to do. Love youuuuuuuu!”

“Wait! Lance! Talk to me! Tell me what you’re doing right now.” Keith said urgently.

“What I’m doing? Nothing. What are you doing?” Lance questioned.

“I’m trying to find your sorry ass!” Keith nearly shouted into the receiver.

“Keith. Keith. Listen. Listen, listen, listen. My friends are waiting for me. I gotta go.” Lance garbled.

“Lance! Literally, every single friend that you have is here.” Keith snapped.

“Not true,” Lance mumbled.

“Yes, true, you nerd.” Keith chuckled in spite of the situation.

“Listen. I want to either talk about your hair or take another shot of Fireball.” Lance sighed like it should have been obvious to Keith from the start.

“My… Hair? Okay. We can talk about my hair all you want if you get a glass of water and drink it.” Keith sighed.

“Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Gimme a sec.” Lance mumbled.

Lance stumbled to the bar and requested a glass of water. The bartender happily obliged, filling a glass quickly. Lance held onto the cold cup, taking a sip before returning to the line.

“I got water. It tastes bad. I wanna talk about your hair. Right now.” Lance insisted.

“Okay… What about my hair?” Keith asked.

“First of all, I give you shit for the mullet but I actually like it a lot. It looks really soft. When I get home will you let me braid it? I remember once you had it pulled back and you looked really nice…” Lance trailed off.

“Got it! He’s at a pretty lowbrow pub downtown. I’ll send you the address.” Lance could faintly hear Pidge’s voice over the line.

“Got it? Good. Hang in there, Lance. I’m coming to get you.”

 

 

 

 

 

3:42

“Oh, thank God. Lance!” Keith elbowed his way through the crowd of tipplers towards Lance.

“Keith!” Lance ran towards him laughing, with his arms wide and eyes bloodshot.

Keith gladly accepted the hug, pulling Lance tight. Lance laid his head on Keith’s shoulder, still giggling. It didn’t take long for the laughing to become crying, however. Keith tentatively rubbed slow circles onto Lance’s back, trying to console his drunk friend.

“Lance? What’s wrong?” Keith asked, concerned.

“I don’t,” Lance made a noise that sounded like a choked sob, “I don’t know. I don’t know. Just hold me a little longer.”

Lance burrowed his face into Keith’s neck, still crying.

“How about we get you home, okay? Hunk can make you some soup.” Keith reassured.

“Soup?” Lance’s tone was changed instantly.

“Come on. Let’s go home.” Keith smiled.

 

 

 

 

3:46

Lance tapped his feet on the floor of Keith’s car as they drove down the road, the street lights illuminating the inside of the car as they drove under them. Lance sighed and reached up to flick the red lion hanging from Keith’s rearview mirror while his friend drove.

“Do you have any music?” Lance asked, leaning back into his seat.

“Well, you broke off the radio antenna last week when you insisted you could vault over my car, but I think I have a few CDs in here somewhere. There might be one in already.” Keith said, gesturing to the player.

Lance hit the play button, and “Unintended” by Muse started playing through the old car’s speakers.

“Oh my god. I love this song.” Lance stated, quickly shooting his hands to his sides as if he had lost his balance.

“You told me last week that you hated it when I had it on.” Keith rolled his eyes.

“Kieth. Keith, listen.” Lance sighed like he was talking to a dumb child. “I changed my mind.”

Lance was quiet until a quarter way through the song before speaking again. “Keith? Look at me.”

“I’m driving.” Keith deadpanned.

“Pull over. This is important.” Lance said with urgency. Keith quickly turned to the side of the road, sensing the desperation in Lance’s voice.

“Lance, if you need to throw up, open the door. Please.”

“First of all,” Lance turned the volume knob down on the stereo to mute it, “This is too loud.”

“Lance, if this isn’t important…” Keith said in an exhausted tone.

“This is very important.” Lance looked into Keith’s eyes intently. “What color are your eyes?”

“Oh my god, Lance. We need to get home.” Keith sighed, reaching to shift the car back into drive.

“No! This is important.” Lance grabbed Keith’s face with his hand, giving him a fish face. After looking into his eyes for much longer than was comfortable, Lance leaned back, satisfied.

“What’s the verdict?” Keith chuckled.

“Gray, but in the right light they look purple.” Lance wrinkled his nose in thought. “Okay. That’s all. Take me home.”

Keith sighed, shifting the car back into drive. Lance didn’t insist on music anymore, so the rest of the ride was sat in silence.

 

 

 

 

4:03

After Lance had eaten his fill of soup courtesy of Hunk, Keith lugged Lance into his bed, and Lance quickly pulled the blue duvet around himself. All of the lights were off except the penguin dreamlite on Lance’s bedside table.

“Is there anything I can get you before I leave for the night?” Keith asked at the door frame, running his fingers through his hair.

“Will you come talk to me?” Lance asked, pulling the blankets into a tighter cocoon.

“Alright, but only for a few minutes. I want to get to bed soon.” Keith sat down on the bed next to Lance.

“Okay. Sober me is a chicken, so I’m gonna tell you some stuff before he comes back.” Lance looked at Keith with intent. “Do you remember the time that I microwaved a fork on accident and caught the microwave on fire?”

“Of course. I was the one who put out that fire.” Keith shook his head and smiled. “You should have heard your scream.”

“Everybody called me an idiot, but you didn’t. You just went with me to buy a new one.” Lance fiddled with his fingers and looked down. “Do you remember the time when we all went rock climbing and I fell in a hole and couldn’t get out?”

“Yeah. Everybody thought it was hilarious, but I could tell you were terrified. I’m glad I helped you out.” Keith looked at Lance with searching eyes.

“Do you remember the time when Shiro took us all down the river in inner tubes? When mine popped and I fell into the white water?” Lance shuffled around in his blankets, pulling it over his head like a hood.

“Oh god, I remember that. You were screaming and you got your arms and legs scratched up. Thankfully I managed to help you up into my inner tube. That was terrifying, not just for you.” Keith bit his lip and looked almost anxious like he was reliving the moment.

“What about the time when we all went rollerskating and everybody had blades and knew how to skate but me? When I clung to the wall for dear life but still managed to fall?” Lance asked.

“Holy shit! You mean the time when the roller derby team was about to put on a show and you were still stuck in the back of the rink? I had to go back and get you, and you just clung onto my back for dear life! God, that was the funniest thing ever. I’d almost forgotten about it.” Keith laughed, looking up at Lance through his lashes.  
“Yeah. You even stayed with me while everybody else skated together to try to teach me. That meant a lot to me.” Lance cleared his throat, refusing to look at Keith. “All of those times meant a lot to me, honestly. What I’m trying to say is, all of those times made me realize something, and it was something I didn’t really understand until I looked back on it all. They made me realize I wanted to be more than friends.”

“Oh, Lance.” Keith sighed. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“I told you, sober me is a chicken.” Lance paused for a moment. “Does this mean you feel the same way?”

“Well, I can’t say I haven’t thought about it. I definitely wouldn’t mind!” Keith smiled.

“Keith?” Lance said, quieter this time.

“Yeah?” Keith answered.

“Will you kiss me?” Lance whispered.

“Lance, if this were any other situation I absolutely would, but you’re totally shit faced. I can’t take advantage of you like that.” Keith promised.

“You wouldn’t be, I promise! I want you to!” Lance insisted.

“Listen, Lance. I can’t. I won’t. I’ll make you a deal.” Keith stood up. “If you feel the same way tomorrow, I’ll kiss you. But for now? I’ll have to take a raincheck.”

Keith walked over to Lance’s lamp, and with a click, the stars were gone. Even in the darkness, Lance could see Keith’s face illuminated in the moonlight. “Sleep well, Lance.”

 

 

 

 

 

11:14

When Lance woke up, he was in his room. Keith was sitting in a wooden chair with his arms crossed, looking at him like a Grand Inquisitor.

“You’ve got some explaining to do, McClain,” Keith stated blankly.

“Oh, God. What did I do?” Lance squinted.

“Well, why don’t you drink the water next to you while I catch you up to speed?” Keith gestured towards the cup sitting on the bedside table.  
As soon as water was mentioned, Lance realized he was parched. He quickly chugged the water before turning to Keith.

“First off, why don’t you tell me how you managed to rack up a 252 dollar bill in whiskey?” Keith pursed his lips.

“Hmm… I don’t know, but that sounds like something I would do.” Lance shrugged.

“Apparently you bought shots for the whole bar. Do you know how stupid that was? Not only did you get a bill up the ass, but something could have happened! Somebody could have hurt you!” Keith nearly shouted.

“Why do you care so much? It would have been my problem, not yours!” Lance demanded.

“Because I care about you, Lance! We all do! When you didn’t answer my calls or texts, I thought…” Keith put his head in his hands.

Lance spoke up softly. “What can I do to make it up to you?”

“Buy me dinner for like, three months to make up the tab, first of all. Some answers, second of all.” Keith rocked back in his chair.

“What do you mean?” Lance wrinkled his brow.

“Well, when we got home you…” Keith sighed. “Said some things.”

“Like?” Lance asked.

Keith’s cheeks were tinged with pink. “You, uh, talked about the time you set the microwave on fire, and when we all went rock climbing,” Keith paused. “And time your inner tube popped and we had to share one for an hour, and the roller skating incident.”

Lance’s face went beet red. This took Keith aback. It meant that the feelings that all of those moments brought were something Lance thought about sober and weren’t just a drunk man’s ramblings.

“Keith, you know I was drunk. Whatever I said wasn’t true.” Lance was wringing his hands.

“It’s a little late to lie about it now, Lance. Please just be honest with me.” Keith’s heart felt like it was going to burst.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Lance insisted.

“You’ve always been a bad liar. Please, don’t do this to me.” Keith said.

“You want to pull this out of me? Fine. I’ve got feelings for you that I don’t really understand right now. All I understand is that your smile makes my heart skip, and when you’re talking about something you’re passionate about I’m not listening because I’m so distracted by how beautiful you are, or when we’re walking all I want to do is hold your hand, but I have to remind myself that you don’t feel the same away, or how-” Lance kept talking as Keith spoke over him.

“Who said I don’t feel the same way?”

Lance went silent.

“What?”

“Who said I don’t feel the same way?” Keith repeated.

“What?” Lance repeated.

“Last night… You asked me to kiss you.” Keith admitted.

Lance’s hand immediately went to his mouth. “We…”

Keith held up his hands defensively. “No! No! You were drunk! I would never do that to you!”

“So what did you do?” Lance asked.

“Well… I took a raincheck.” Keith looked down.

“Oh. Oh!” Lance gasped. “Would you… Like to cash that in now?”

“Ever the smooth talker, as always.” Keith chuckled. “I would love to, Lance.”


End file.
